“Jongiieee!” Baekhyun was putting on his fake cutsie voice, much to Jongdae’s disgust.
“the light of my life, my sunshine, my muse, there is no me without you! you make my days ever so bright, but - within the nighttime thee lacks a considerable input!”

“I’ve told you before, if you plan on spouting crap like that then bring something for me to be sick in, less your shoes be victim”

“Hey! I will happily volunteer my shoes as your trusted vomit platform when you drink yourself insane tonight jusT COME - WITH – ME!! I promise it will be fun!!” Baekhyun pouts, placing both hands on Jongdae’s face, squishing his cheeks together. “listen to me… do you even remember the last time you had a in you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow accusingly.

“of course, I do!” Jongdae scoffed, he remembered it very well in fact.

“True - my bad - you probably have the date tattooed on your ‘June 4th 1923, the 4 inches that changed my life’”

Jongdae shoved him out of the way, making a swift retreat towards his room.

“We’re leaving at 10pm and no later!” Baekhyun called after him.

“Good! Perhaps I’ll get some quiet around here seeing as I’m not coming”

~

Were clubs supposed to be this loud?

Sticking his fingers in his ears, Jongdae peered over the mound of sweaty gyrating bodies in an attempt to spot his roommate, but Baekhyun’s rather small frame had been lost in the abyss.
Four hours of Baekhyun’s whining and Jongdae had caved to his ruthless manipulation, only to be abandoned! Scowling, he sat himself down on one of the bar stools, perhaps drinking would loosen him up a bit.

‘Only a few shots, we’re going for tipsy not drunk, I don’t want to be a zombie tomorrow’ He thought to himself, taking special notice of the girl attempting to mount someone who seemed to have fainted.

“Not a big club goer I’m guessing?” Jongdae jumped in his stool, eyes searching for the source of the sudden voice. They landed on a man standing behind the bar, serving someone some sort of fancy cocktail.

“No … Um… No, I’m not.” The guy was attractive, extremely attractive! Jongdae was taken aback slightly – He was around his height, slightly taller, lean figure, pushed up black hair, perplexing eyes examining Jongdae, reading him - He didn’t know why he was blushing, perhaps it was the setting, perhaps it was because he wasn’t used to model worthy human beings so much as giving him the time of day… He hadn’t drunk anything yet so there was no blaming it on that.

“Let me guess… Friend dragged you along so he’d have someone at least partly sober to drive home, right?” The flash of dimple that appeared when he smirked made Jongdae’s pants suddenly feel a little too tight.

“Yeah errr … I don’t think he plans on making it home tonight.” Jongdae cringed inwardly at his own awkward laughter, shifting in his seat at an attempt to come back to earth.

“Well at least in the meantime can I get you a drink?” - Jongdae panicked, he wasn’t ready for hot bartenders with chiseled jaws to buy him drinks, he hadn’t planned on going home with anyone, let alone someone over a 6.5, he couldn’t handle that kind of pressure.

 

“… OK yes - Yes please” He wasn’t entirely sure what he was agreeing to, but he felt in a mood to cave to most anything at this point.

Mr. Dimples just stared at him blankly, then glanced down at the menu and back up at Jongdae expectantly.

“Oh umm…. Just a Jaeger Bomb thanks” so much for drinking responsibly He thought, watching intently as the man’s painfully soft looking hands worked on preparing his drink.

He slid the drink at him, smiling professionally, clearly automatic, before handing over the Eftpos machine.

“That’s 5,000.00 ₩ thanks.” Jongdae choked on his drink, spitting half of it out into his hand. Great! this was just his luck, he’d mistaken professionalism for flirting like the he was. Trying to keep composed, not to ruin his dignity, he pulled out his card paying for the drink he had managed to waste half of anyway.

“Another one?” Mr. Dimples asked.

“ it!” Jongdae replied.

~

An hour - possibly two – later, Jongdae was slouched over the bar table, far beyond tipsy, not managing to find it in him to care about the rather large dent he had made in his bank account.

 

“– And you know, University is bull anyway, so I told my father ‘ YOU! I don’t want to be an ugly old boring CEO that no one likes anyway’ – well no I didn’t actually say that, but I thought it!” Mr. Dimples- who’s name was Yixing, as Jongdae had learned through one of the very few words Yixing had managed to add into the conversation – just nodded along, he’d done a lot of that, surely his neck hurt by now, but Jongdae just couldn’t stop talking. Somewhere within the messy blur of his thoughts he wondered why he was revealing things he hadn’t even told Baekhyun about to this man he had just met, but the warm comfort of the far too many drinks he had downed told him to keep spilling. His rambling was cut short however when he felt a sudden rapid increase of discomfort in his abdominal region.

“Toilet’s near the entrance to the club” Yixing said, reading into Jongdae’s sudden shift of nature. “Don’t use the disabled one, it’s always preoccupied with people who clearly haven’t heard of locking the door.”

Navigation was one of the more painful parts of club going, especially if you were on a mission that had a definite timer. He was about to reach his destination, despite being nearly crushed by the onslaught of highly-intoxicated bodies, when he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt.

“You better take him home Jongie! Or, actually no, have him take you home, I want to take advantage of that memory foam mattress I brought last week.” Baekhyun’s attempt to yell over the excess of noise made Jongdae’s ears ring, he tried to tug his way out of his roommates grip but he was not budging.

“I know you Dae, you’ve probably come up with every way possible to tell yourself he’s not interested, but you’re wrong I can tell you that, he’s even putting on a whole fake cool demeanor you’d see right through it if you weren’t wearing those damn anxiety glasses that cloud your vision!” Jongdae finally wiggled himself free from Baekhyun’s grip, making a desperate attempt for the bathrooms before he embarrassed himself more than he already had. What did Baekhyun know?! Why would he listen to advice from someone who was constantly hooking up with the scum of the earth - as long as they met a certain level of physical attractiveness?! Making a sprint for the last remaining bathroom cubicle, Junmyeon closed the door and locked himself in, preparing for his inevitable oncoming minor breakdown.

~

Yixing breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Jongdae retreat towards the bathrooms. Acting was exhausting, why he had previously considered it as a career option he wasn’t sure. Despite his appearance, “cool suave dude” was something Yixing was not… at least not entirely, he had his moments. Attempting to keep up that image had proven a challenging task to say the least, and all for someone who was quite possibly not even gay, or honestly worse, an exclusive top. He peered down at the various alcoholic beverages on display in front of him. Why couldn’t he have an irresponsible boss that let him drink on the Job.
A small man with cunning eyes and red hair sat down across from him, staring directly at Yixing, his beady eyes observing him.

“So you play for… Well I would say “the other team” But that would imply that I too was not of that orientation”

“Excuse me?” Yixing considered the possibility that this was the Devil himself; forcing him to confront his fears and insecurities.

“Whilst you were eyeing up my good friend Kim Jongdae, I stood observing the encounter and very quickly came to a conclusion regarding your intent, you’re lucky he’s so naïve you know!” the man took a hold of the glass Jongdae had previously been drinking from and downed what was left of his beer.

“Well… err… I…” Yixing stuttered his way through a failed attempt at a sentence, he guessed this was the infamous Roommate.

“He is gay you know? So, no need to worry about that! Most people can’t tell, which I don’t quite understand… possibly because he dresses like a sad middle aged lawyer named Brad or something… but two minutes of talking to him and it’s like he’s wearing a large sign that says ‘I like in my !!’ He’s one of those super submissive bottoms too so you don’t have to worry on that account, you look like a Dominant fella, not my kind of Dom though I’m afraid, I’ll give you a second to recover from your heart break.” Yixing was beginning to think he was right about the Devil part.

“I’m his roommate for your information, Byun Baek-“

“Yes, he said you’re a pain in the and make his life a living hell.” Yixing interrupted sternly.

“Can’t have been talking about the same Byun Baekhyun then, because last time I checked I was the light of young Mr. Dae-Dae’s life, he was a mess before he met me you know? Still Is a mess, but at least a mess that actually has some fun every few lightyears, product of subtle manipulation or not.”

Yixing shifted away from Baekhyun’s attempt to pat him on the shoulder, grimacing at the other man’s mocking laughter.

“No need to be so tense you know, you’re interested, he’s interested, what more is needed?”

“He’s a bit out of my league.” Yixing had to admit to himself that a large amount of his insecurity spawned from that small fact.

“He thinks the exact same thing about you my friend!”

“How?” Yixing wondered out loud.

~

 

Fifteen minutes of mild alcohol induced panic found Jongdae crouched inside the cramped toilet cubicle, feeling uncomfortably claustrophobic.
‘It’s not even a big deal’ He thought, ‘Just tell him you’re interested and if you get rejected you can just make sure to avoid this club in the future, or anywhere else handsome dimpled men may go’

 

‘Or you could just jump off the nearest cliff’

 

He stood up, deciding to face his fears and at least go back out there, maybe a few more drinks would have him delirious enough to set aside all morals he had built in his considerably long life of 22 years.
He twisted the lock on the door, but found that it wasn’t budging. Trying again he shook the door as hard as he could without passing out from motion sickness, before giving up and collapsing back down onto the floor, in the corner of the cubicle he could see a tiny screw that had clearly come lose when he had slammed the door shut earlier.

Jongdae attempted to laugh away his tears.

~

‘Lucky I’m small’ He thought, inching his way through the tiny gap between door and floor. There was some sort of liquid on the floor, he prayed it was water – slightly discolored water.

“I see you’ve reached the stage where you’ve decide it would be easier to be reborn as a worm.”

Jongdae craned his neck, looking up at the last thing he wanted to see in this state.

“If you bring this up ever again I will cut you’re off in your sleep and make you eat it for breakfast!” He grimaced, trying to dismiss Baekhyun’s fits of laughter

“I may be but I’m not that kind of .” He replied, leaning down to pull the remainder of Jongdae’s now limp body through the opening.

 

They sat, leaning against each other on the floor of the club bathroom, no longer able to care about the disgusting, not to mention unhygienic grime that likely sealed the floor beneath them.

“So – spotted anyone that peaks your interest?” Jongdae asked, not all that engrossed in hearing the answer.

“Did you see the guy I was dancing with? Or at least trying to… I don’t think he was feeling it to be frank.”

“… Kind of” Jongdae lied, admittedly he hadn’t paid any attention to anyone other than Yixing for a good two hours, “Is he a ten or have you lowered your standards?”

“He’s an eleven.” Baekhyun frowned, looking somewhat confused.

“For once I almost feel like He’s the one out of My league.” Jongdae just nodded along, not paying all that much attention. Baekhyun turned to him, Jongdae staring back at him sheepishly.

“About you… I think you should just go for it Dae, the guys not as scary as he probably looks to you.”

Jongdae bit his lip in thought. Baekhyun, as much as he hated to admit, was very good at reading people, and would not stoop as low as to set him up with someone terrible… But still, Jongdae would never let him get so much as a hint that he might possibly think that way.

“Yeah well why would I listen to someone that sleeps with anything that has a pulse?” He snapped back, lightening the statement with a smirk.

“Hey! You know they have to fit an aesthetic standard I’m not classless… Besides, I still haven’t found the one Dae, It’s such a tragic ordeal, I think ‘this is him, the dominant man of my dreams’ and then CLOSE! But no cigar, I always end up having to be the one sticking my in them, It’s honestly so depressing!” Jongdae patted him on the head lightly.

“Have you tried not making them think you want to be on top?”

“Where’s the fun in that?! The Challenging is the best part, but none of them ever take it as that! Everyone is either a bottom or a switch, I know I have a very specific type but there has to be someone out there right?!”

“What about this guy, the one you were dancing with? Does he seem like he’d fit the mold?”

Baekhyun furrowed his brows, sitting in thought for a second.

“I just don’t want to get my hopes up again … But you should see the way he looks at me Dae, he has this cute round innocent looking face but there’s something behind those eyes… It’s… Honestly I nearly busted right there on that dance floor”

“OK! OK! That’s enough detail.” Baekhyun snickered into his neck as Jongdae rubbed little circles into his arm.

“You’ll be fine Baek, just don’t let him treat you like .”

 

~

 

Jongdae couldn’t help but notice the slight sinking feeling he felt in his gut when he saw Yixing still standing behind the counter, his one escape out of the situation instantly diminished. He’d promised, for some stupid reason - gentle manipulation as Baekhyun always called it – that he would go and propose at least something -

“- So you’re going to go and ask him to pound you into a mattress correct?”

“Not correct.”

“Disappointed but not surprised..”

He went through about 400 possible conversation starters in his head, ways to ease into things, but found his mind empty. Yixing looked over into the crowd from his place at the bar, catching his eye, promptly seizing Jongdae’s ability to function. One second he was staring back at Yixing, unable to break his gaze, the next he was looking down at the wooden floor boards, a sudden sharp pain shooting through his face.
He couldn’t believe it, he really could not. As if his luck couldn’t get any worse. Not only had he already acted a fool in front of the one man who had peaked his interest in a long while, but falling on his face while on his way to propose some form of ual endeavour? His life was beginning to look like an Adam Sandler movie, and not a passable pre 2000’s one.

“Are you ok? Jongdae hey! Your nose is bleeding should I call someone?”

He looked up in shame, gazing upon the face of an angel, paring down at him in concern, his skin glimmering in the humid air, eyes sparkling, watching over him. Was he to shed a tear over this bewitching view of pure beauty? Let the angel scoop him up in his arms and take him to the sky where he was inevitably destined to be? This exquisite death…

“Jongdae? Can you hear me?” Yixing repeated

“You’re really… really attractive, are you aware?” Jongdae replied

“I think he’s hit his head” Yixing muttered in concern.

“He could have had a brain aneurism!” Came another, far too familiar voice. “Or cracked his skull?!? That might be his brain juices leaking out onto the floor, Jongdae I swear to God if you die and leave me all alone with no one to vent to I swear to God I’ll kill you all over again!” Baekhyun started shaking him vigorously, as though that would help anyone.

“I’m fine Jesus, can you let go of me my head hurts!” Baekhyun huffed out what sounded like a sigh of both relief and disappointment. Yixing still had concern written all over his face.

“Serious or not your nose is still pouring blood all over the floor that I have to clean for your information.” Jongdae cringed inwardly at the feeling of warm blood pouring down his face.

“I have a flat upstairs, will you at least let me get you cleaned up?” Jongdae swallowed the large ball of what he worried might be love, and sat up promptly, nodding his head.

He could feel Baekhyun smirking triumphantly behind him.